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Italy · Private Equity Portfolio · Beverages

OPEX Optimisation & Operating Model Redesign

International Beverage Group

10–14%

OPEX baseline reduction across the initiative portfolio

Initiatives mapped by feasibility and impact

+3–5pp

EBITDA uplift sequenced across the programme arc

Situation

A leading international beverage group was facing growing operational complexity and declining efficiency, a direct consequence of the fund's buy-and-build strategy. Buy-and-build is one of the main PE plays for incremental value creation, but the integration overhead it generates typically outpaces the operational systems built to manage it. Production sites had overlapping responsibilities, inconsistent processes, and limited integration. Operating expenses had grown disproportionately to revenue across personnel, marketing, and support functions. SKU complexity and fragmented planning compounded the drag on EBITDA.

What worked

Full OPEX and organisational baseline across operations, marketing, maintenance, finance, and general services. Each initiative mapped on a 2x2 matrix of implementation complexity vs estimated saving, separating quick wins, tactical, transformational, and deprioritised work. The programme is sequenced as a journey — quick wins fund the larger transformational projects rather than being run in parallel against limited management bandwidth.

Impact

10–14% OPEX baseline reduction identified across 20 initiatives, spread across the four feasibility quadrants. Quick wins (~2–3% saving, low investment) released cashflow to fund the transformational tier (~7–8% saving, multi-year investment). Tactical initiatives layered alongside as steady incremental gains. Scalable operating model built for growth without proportional overhead drag.

Results visualised

OPEX optimisation as a journey, four feasibility tiers

Each tier shows the share of OPEX baseline released. The programme was sequenced as a journey, with quick wins funding the longer-cycle transformational work.

High effort · Low impact

~0–1%

Deprioritise or reframe — investment doesn't justify the return at current readiness.

Transformational

~7–8%

Largest unlock, but multi-year investment. Sequenced after the quick wins fund the work.

Tactical initiatives

~1–2%

Incremental gains with low implementation cost. The bedrock of programme momentum.

Quick wins

~2–3%

High return, low cost. Cashflow funds the longer-cycle transformational work.

Read the complete case study

Full OPEX baseline by function, benchmarking framework, operating model redesign, and the obstacles that had to be cleared along the way.

The friction points

Legacy organisational silos and a strong culture of local autonomy resisted any move towards centralisation, limiting integration across business units. Production was spread across multiple sites with duplicated responsibilities and inconsistent processes, which made it difficult to identify the true cost-to-serve of any single product. SKU complexity multiplied through years of portfolio expansion meant planning, manufacturing, and inventory were all carrying complexity overhead that the commercial returns could no longer justify.

The pattern is consistent across PE OPEX programmes. The opportunity is rarely one big cost line. It is dozens of small structural redundancies compounding across functions. Capturing it requires a baseline detailed enough to argue with, not a top-down target imposed from above.

Disconnected systems and inconsistent processes across entities limited visibility and slowed decision-making. A critical thread throughout the programme was balancing efficiency improvements against the need to preserve operational continuity, commercial flexibility, and brand positioning across multiple consumer-facing portfolios.

Custom Tooling Built

Tools that stayed in use after the engagement closed

OPEX baseline by function with cost-driver attribution and benchmark comparators
Savings initiative portfolio with ownership, sequencing, and run-rate impact tracking
Operational KPI dashboard covering plant efficiency, SKU complexity, and support-function cost ratios
Governance model and decision-rights map for the new operating structure
Phased roadmap for process standardisation, systems integration, and operating model evolution

AI-Ready Use Cases

How AI applies to this type of engagement

AI-assisted analysis of cost buckets to surface hidden structural inefficiencies, finding patterns across functions that manual review tends to miss
Deep-search benchmarking to build precise peer panels for cost line comparison, accelerating the baseline phase
Predictive analytics for production planning, inventory optimisation, and maintenance, turning reactive overhead into proactive resource allocation
Advanced analytics for SKU rationalisation, demand forecasting, and trade investment optimisation
Workflow automation across finance, procurement, and support functions to reduce manual repetition
Process mining and real-time operational dashboards for continuous visibility on inefficiencies

Other PE commercial transformations

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+5–7pp gross margin recovered, EU-wide rollout

B2B Services · Sales Transformation

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+22% commercial margin growth · 1st time hitting target in 2 years

Industrial Manufacturing · Pricing

OPEX Optimisation & Operating Model Redesign · International Beverage Group

+2–3pp gross margin per market · 4 rollout waves

Carrying too much OPEX in a portfolio company?

We have delivered OPEX optimisation and operating model redesigns across consumer goods, beverage, and industrial businesses. References available on request.